Page 53 of Abel's Omega
“Jason told me what happened at the car.”
“He’s a good shifter. A good packmate.”
“He told me that you trounced the guys who attacked you.” Bax cast him a flirtatious glance, which was fun, because Bax normally was so serious. Maybe with the risk of being returned to Jackson-Jellystone no longer looming over him, he’d start to relax a little. Abel didn’t mind a bit of flirting.
“I might have bounced them around a little,” he said modestly, then winked at Bax, who laughed. “We should go get ready to run, if you want to.”
“I’d like to.” The longing look on Bax’s face underscored the statement. “Can I take a minute to check on the pups?”
“Of course. Like I’m going to stand between you and your pups.”
Bax’s eyes flew to his, his expression wary, then his smile came back again. “It’ll only take a minute.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Bax, I want to. Why do you think I wouldn’t want to spend time with your pups?” Then it dawned on him. “I’m not Patrick. I’m not going to play favorites, and I know you’re a package deal.” He turned Bax to him and cupped Bax’s face in his hands. “Trust me, okay? If something bothers me, I’ll tell you. But if I don’t complain, that means I’m either not bothered, or I like you enough to put myself out for you.” He ran his thumb over Bax’s lower lip and debated a kiss, but decided the moment was too important. “You’ve promised to give me a chance. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
Bax smiled uncertainly, but he softened the blow to Abel’s ego by rubbing his cheek into Abel’s palm. “We better go, then.” His gaze flicked to the people around them, stripping clothes away, some already in wolf form. “Noah will probably be hungry too.”
“We can wait while you feed him.”
Bax leaned in for a hug, then took Abel’s arm. They stood quietly for a moment, until Abel realized that Bax was waiting for him to lead them over to the children’s pens. He started walking across the grass, puzzling over the way other packs socialized their omegas. Or maybe the fault was in him—he’d generally dated alphas or betas, finding the other groups too easy to roll over. Bax wasn’t, though. And maybe that was a characteristic of omegas—they were just as stubborn and opinionated as alphas, but they showed it differently. He tucked that thought away for closer inspection later on, and focused on simply enjoying his stroll with a gorgeous shifter on his arm.
The babies had all moved back inside the daycare. Abel followed casually while Bax checked on Beatrice, one of nearly a dozen toddlers sleeping the sleep of the happily exhausted, laid out in rows at the far end of the room. The floor had been cushioned by layers of quilts and foam mats, and each child wrapped in a light blanket. He watched as Bax delicately smoothed her hair back from her face and smiled adoringly at her. Bax watched her sleep for a minute, then stood and came soft-footed back to Abel, wrapping himself once more around Abel’s arm. “I could sit and watch her for hours.”
“She’s cute,” Abel agreed.
Bax guided him out into the hall, to a room divided almost perfectly in half, with cribs filling one side, and wooden gates crisscrossing the rest of it to divide the floorspace up. They found Noah near the door, crawling clumsily after a tiny toy duck one of the on-duty shifters held out to him.
“I’ll feed him before I run,” Bax said. Noah giggled and held his arms up. “Da, da, da, da, da,” he chanted, and squeaked when Bax picked him up.
“Come on, baby boy. Let’s go fill your tummy and change your bum.” Bax kissed him on the cheek, grabbed a battered denim bag from a shelf by the door, and led Abel to another room.
“This is fantastic,” Abel said. He hadn’t seen it, not since approving the plans for the expansion.
“It’s nice to have a quiet space.” Bax picked a chair in the corner and sat down with Noah on his lap. He undid three buttons of his shirt, then paused, his fingers resting on the fourth. “Um, if you’re not comfortable…” His gaze held only a little anxiety, though. Mostly, he seemed interested in Abel’s feelings.
But about what? Abel stared back at him in puzzlement, then enlightenment dawned. “Oh, no, go ahead. Or would you rather I left?”
Bax shook his head. “No. If you’re courting me, this is part of the territory, right?” His words were conciliatory, but a hint of challenge echoed in his tone.
Testing me, are you?Abel made himself comfortable on the couch beside Bax’s chair and stretched out his legs, crossing them at his ankles, controlling his body language to be completely at ease. “No, feel free.”
Bax cast him an unreadable glance, then he undid the rest of his buttons. He pushed his shirt off to one side, barely in time to keep Noah from getting a mouthful of cotton.
Abel snorted, and Bax looked up at him.
“Just a little goal oriented, isn’t he?” Abel said lightly.
Bax grinned. “They all are when it comes to food.” He looked back down at his pup and stroked his thumb over Noah’s cheek. “I’ll miss this when he’s weaned.”
“You can have it again, if you want.”Go easy here, Alpha.
Bax never moved his eyes away from Noah. “Do you want pups?” He busied himself adjusting the one in his arms.
“I always assumed I’d have some. Whether we have any needs to be a decision we both make. I won’t push you to do something you don’t want to do.” In all ways.
